Adjustable sliding door roller bracket



July 11,1967 R. F. ANDERSON 3,329,993

ADJUSTABLE SLIDING DOOR ROLLER BRACKET Filed June 11, 1965 FIG.I.L: 1

Inventor: Ralph E Hnderson United States Patent 3,329,993 ADJUSTABLE SLIDING DOOR ROLLER BRACKET Ralph F. Anderson, Rockford, 111., assignor to National Lock Co., Rockford, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Filed June 11, 1965, Ser. No. 463,169 9 Claims. (Cl. 16105) The present invention relates to a novel adjustable door hanger assembly for mounting andsuspending a sliding door panel on an overhead supporting track, including an adjustable lever for quick and ready adjustment of the hanger assembly while on the door.

In the assembly and mounting of a depending door panel whereby it is free to slide along an overhead track, each door panel is generally suspended from two or more door hangers depending on the size and weight of the suspended panel; a hanger normally being positioned adjacent each of the upper corners of the panel. It is generally recognized that the mounting and maintaining of a depending door panel in a vertical plane below the horizontally arranged track with the vertical edges accurately aligned or plumb with the vertical door jambs is a diflicult procedure, even for a skilled craftsman and, therefore, the supporting hangers or brackets are provided with some means of adjustment for proper positioning of the panel.

The present invention comprehends a novel adjustable bracket assembly for a door hanger in which a housing is affixed to the door panel and has a pocket receiving a vertically adjustable bracket, and a lever is pivotally mounted on the housing to positively and accurately adjust the bracket and retain the bracket in its adjusted posi- I tion.

An important object of the present invention is the provision of a door hanger having a housing which is accurately secured to the door panel adjacent the upper edge thereof and having a pocket formed therein to receive a vertically movable bracket carrying the roller or rollers which ride in an overhead track for the assembly. Means for vertically adjusting the bracket and retaining the bracket in its adjusted position is mounted on the housing for ease of manual adjustment.

Another important object of the present invention is the provision of a manually adjustable lever pivotally mounted on the housing of the hanger assembly and operatively connected to the vertically reciprocable bracket so that pivotal movement of the lever will cause corresponding vertical movement and adjustment of the bracket.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a pivotally mounted adjustment lever which cooperates with the housing to retain the lever and bracket in adjusted position. The housing is provided with a plurality of openings positioned upon an are having the pivot point of the lever as the center thereof. The lever is provided with a projection, boss or detent which conformably fits in any one of the plurality of openings to fixedly retain the lever in an adjusted position.

Further objects are to provide a construction of maximum simplicity, efliciency, economy and ease of assembly and operation, and such further objects, advantages and capabilities as will later more fully appear and are inherently possessed thereby.

In the drawing: 7

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of the hanger assembly mounted on a sliding door for movement in an overhead track.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the housing for the hanger.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the housing.

ice

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the bracket received in the housing.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the bracket.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the lever for adjusting the bracket;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the pivot rivet for the lever.

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the rivet for guiding the bracket.

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the lever pin.

Referring more particularly to the disclosure in the drawing wherein is shown an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 discloses a hanger assembly 10 which is mounted on the inner surface of the door 11 adjacent one corner with the wheel or roller 12 of the assembly positioned and rolling in an overhead track 13 for the door. Normally, two hanger assemblies are mounted adjacent the upper corners of the door to provide accurate alignment and carry the weight of the door.

The hanger assembly 10 includes a housing 14 which consists of a body portion 15 and a pair of oppositely disposed offset mounting flanges 16. Each flange 16 contains an opening 17 for suitable means to secure the housing to the door, and at the upper edge of each mounting flange 16 is posit-oning flange 18 extending inward at right angles to the flange 16; the flanges 18 located to engage the upper edge of the door panel 11. The body portion 15, offset from the flanges 16, forms a pocket 19 between the body portion 15 and the surface of the door panel 11 to receive an adjustable bracket 21.

The bracket 21 consists of a body portion or plate 22 slidably and conformably received with the pocket 19 and an offset upper end 23 joined to the plate 22 through a horizontal portion or ledge 24. The upper end 23 has an embossed portion 25 having an opening 26 for a rivet or axle 27 mounting the roller 12 for rotation thereon. The plate or body portion 22 has a centrally disposed opening 28 adjacent the right edge thereof (FIG. 5) and a horizontally disposed slot 29 adjacent the opposite edge of plate 22 and slightly below the axis of the opening 28.

The body portion 15 of the housing 14 is provided with a central outwardly embossed opening 31 which is generally horizontally aligned with the openings 17 and acts as an axis for an elongated arcuate slot 32 which is generally aligned with the slot 29 in the plate 22. Also, an elongated vertical slot 33 is provided in the portion 15 on the opposite side of the opening 31 from the arcuate slot 32; the slot 33 being generally aligned with the opening 28 in plate 22. A rivet 34 is secured in the opening 28 of the bracket 21 and extends through the vertical slot 33 with its head in front of the body portion 15; the rivet acting to vertically guide the movement of the bracket 21 in the pocket 19.

An elongated lever 35 has an embossed corner 36 with an opening 37 therein at one end and a curved gripping portion 38 at the opposite end. A pivot rivet 39 having an enlarged head at the exterior of the lever 35 extends through the opening 37 in the lever and the central opening 31 in the housing 14 and is upset behind the housing so as not to interfere with the bracket 21, A second opening 41 is formed in the first mentioned end of the lever 35 spaced from opening 37 to receive a lever pin 42 which has a central flange 43. The pin 42 is positioned with the flange 43 located in the arcuate slot 32 with one end of the pin 42 extending through the opening 41 in the lever 35 and the opposite end of the pin extending through the horizontal slot 29 in the bracket 21. Both ends of the lever pin are upeset to retain the assembly together. a

The lever 35 is also provided with a rearwardly ex- .of openings 45 adjacentthe lower edge of the housing and arranged on an are having the opening 31 as the axis. The openings 45 are spaced at approximately intervals and are of a size to accommodate the boss or detent 44 on the lever 35. I e 7 Where a sliding door panel 11 is to be hung on an overhead track. 13, the door is provided with a hanger assembly 10 on the rear surface thereof adjacent the upper corners with the positioning flanges 18 resting on the upper edge of the door panel. The flanges 16' abut the surface of the'door 11 and are secured thereto by suitable means such as screws in openings 17. The lever 35 is positioned with the boss 44 extending into one of the openings 45.

the gripping portion 38 of the lever is lifted outwardly If the door is not in proper alignment, one 7 or both brackets 21 are vertically adjusted until the door of the housing to remove the boss or detent 44 from the 7 opening 45 and the lever is then free to swing or pivot about the pivot rivet 39. Pivotal movement of the lever 35 in either direction of rotation, either raises or lowers the bracket 21 through the lever pin 42, thus altering adjustment of the door. As the lever is rotated, the lever pin 42 moves in the arcuate slot 32 and the opposite end of the pin in the slot 29 causes vertical movement of the bracket 21. The horizontal slot 29 is provided in the bracket 21 to allow for the slight horizontal movement of the lever pin 42 due to the flange 43 moving in the arcuate slot 32. When the 'bracket 21 reaches its adjusted position with the boss 44 aligned with one of the openings 45, inward movement of the gripping portion 38 of the lever allows the boss or detent 44 to enter the opening 45 where the resiliency of the lever 35 will hold the boss 44 to retain the lever in its adjusted position.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

1. A hanger assembly for supporting a door for movement along an overhead track comprising a housing having'a body portion and a pair of opposite offset flanges adapted to be attached to one face of the door, said body portion forming a pocket between the body portion and the surface of the door, a vertically adjustable bracket mounted within said pocket and having an offset upper end carrying a roller for engaging the track, a lever pivotally mounted at one end on the exterior of said housing, means connecting said lever and bracket together for vertical movement of the bracket upon rotation of the lever, and cooperating means on said lever and said housing for positively retaining the lever in ad- 7 justed position relative to the housing.

2. A hanger assembly for supporting a door for movement along an overhead track comprising a housing having a body portion and a pair of opposite offset flanges adapted to be attached to one face of the door, said body portion forming a pocket between the body portion and the surface of the door, a vertically adjustable bracket mountedwithinsaid pocket and having an offset upper end carrying a roller for engaging the track, a lever pivotally mounted at one end on said housing, a lever pin secured to the lever and extending through the housing to be connected to the bracket, said housing having an arcuate slot concentric about the pivot point of said lever and allowing movement of the lever pin to provide vertical movement of the bracket upon rotation ment along an overhead track comprising a housing hav ing a' body portion and a pair of opposite ofls'et flanges adapted to be attached to oneface of the door, said body portion forming a pockethetween the body portion and the surface of the door, a vertically adjustable bracket mounted within said pocket and having an olfset upper end carrying a roller for engaging the track, a lever pivotally mounted at one end on said housing, means connecting said lever and bracket together for vertical movement of the bracket upon rotation of the lever, and means for retaining the lever .in adjusted position relative to the housing including a boss on the lever, and said housing having a plurality of recesses receiving said boss. l a

i 4. A hanger'assembly for supporting a door for movement along an overhead track comprising a housing including a body portion and a pair of diametrically opposed otfset mounting flanges adapted to be attached to one face of the door, said housing having a pocket formed between said offset body portion and the surface of the door, a vertically adjustable bra-cketimounted.

within said pocket and slidable relative to said housing, an offset upper end on said bracket carrying track-engaging means, an'elongated lever pivotally mounted on said housing, a lever pin secured to said lever adjacent the pivot and operatively connected to said bracket, said body portion of the housing having an arcuate slot with the pivot as the axis receiving said lever pin and allowing movement of the pin therein upon actuation of the lever, and means releasably retaining said lever in adjusted position relative to said housing. a

5. A hanger assembly as set forth in claim 4, in which said housing has an elongated vertical slot in said body portion, and a rivet extending through the vertical slot and secured to said bracket to guide the Vertical movement of the bracket.

6. A hanger assembly as set forth in claim 4 in which said bracket has a horizontally disposed slot receiving said lever pin to provide for vertical movement as the lever pin is moved in an arcuate path.

7. A hanger assembly as set forth in claim 4, in which said lever is pivotally mounted on said 'housing at one corner of the upper end of the lever, and the lever pin is secured to the adjacent corner of the upper end of the lever.

8. A hanger assembly as set forth in claim 4, in which said retaining means includes a detent formed on said lever extending toward and engaging the housing, said detent beingspaced from the pivot, and said housing having a plurality of substantially equally spaced openings therein on an are spaced from the pivot, said pivot acting as the axis for said arc. v

9. A hanger assembly as set forth in claim 8, in which each of said last mentioned openings will accommodate said detent, and said detent is urged into and retained in one of said openings due to the resiliency of the lever.

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

I H. MCGLYNN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A HANGER ASSEMBLY FOR SUPPORTING A DOOR FOR MOVEMENT ALONG AN OVERHEAD TRACK COMPRISING A HOUSING HAVING A BODY PORTION AND A PAIR OF OPPOSITE OFFSET FLANGES ADAPTED TO BE ATTACHED TO ONE FACE OF THE DOOR, SAID BODY PORTION FORMING A POCKET BETWEEN THE BODY PORTION AND THE SURFACE OF THE DOOR, A VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE BRACKET MOUNTED WITHIN SAID POCKET AND HAVING AN OFFSET UPPER END CARRYING A ROLLER FOR ENGAGING THE TRACK, A LEVER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED AT ONE END ON THE EXTERIOR OF SAID HOUSING, MEANS CONNECTING SAID LEVER AND BRACKET TOGETHER FOR VERTICAL MOVEMENT OF THE BRACKET UPON ROTATION OF THE LEVER, AND COOPERATING MEANS ON SAID LEVER AND SAID HOUSING FOR POSITIVELY RETAINING THE LEVER IN ADJUSTED POSITION RELATIVE TO THE HOUSING. 